Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration: A Paradigm Shift in Gas Transfer Technology

Enhanced Gas Dissolution via Nanobubble Physics: Nanobubbles achieve superior gas dissolution through two key physical properties. First, their nanoscale size provides an exceptionally large interfacial area for gas-liquid interaction. Second, their high internal pressure significantly boosts the driving force for gas molecules to enter solution. This combined effect enables the supersaturation of liquids (dissolving up to ~50% more CO₂ than standard solubility, even in brine) and leads to substantially faster and more efficient mass transfer than conventional techniques.

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Enhanced Reaction Kinetics: Beyond simply dissolving faster, nanobubbles can also accelerate the rates of chemical reactions involving the dissolved gas. The increased concentration of dissolved CO2 resulting from superior mass transfer provides a higher reactant concentration, directly boosting reaction rates according to chemical kinetics principles. The vast interfacial area provided by the nanobubbles themselves might also serve as active sites for reactions at the gas-liquid boundary.

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Extended Stability and Residence Time: The characteristic long-term stability of nanobubbles, allowing them to persist in liquids for extended periods (hours to months) without rising or coalescing, provides a crucial advantage over conventional bubbles. This stability, maintained by factors like surface charge and Brownian motion overcoming buoyancy , ensures that the gas contained within the bubbles remains in contact with the liquid phase for much longer.

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Potential for Process Intensification and Cost Reduction: The combination of faster mass transfer and enhanced reaction kinetics enabled by nanobubbles opens the door for process intensification in CCS applications. Processes that traditionally require large reactor volumes or long residence times to achieve sufficient CO2 absorption or reaction might be accomplished with smaller equipment or shorter times using nanobubble technology. For example, absorption columns in capture plants could potentially be downsized, or the energy required for solvent pumping and regeneration might be reduced. Similarly, faster mineralization rates could reduce the required reactor size or processing time for mineralization processes

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Improved Fluid Dynamics and Control (Subsurface Applications): In the context of subsurface applications like Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) or geological sequestration, nanobubbles offer unique advantages related to fluid flow in porous media. Conventional gas injection often suffers from poor sweep efficiency due to phenomena like viscous fingering, gravity override (where the buoyant gas rises to the top of the reservoir), and channeling through high-permeability zones, bypassing significant portions of the target reservoir volume.